Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge challenge our vision of God.
In their book, A God-Sized Vision, Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge provide a concise, stirring, and challenging overview of world revivals since the days of Jonathan Edwards. Using contemporary reports and accounts, the authors present the people and events that led to revivals in this country and around the world, and help us to remember how great is the power of God to bless and save His Kingdom people.
The book is a concise overview and thus is selective in its focus. Most attention is given to the impact of revival, first on the Church, with believers confessing and repenting of sin, taking up the mantle of discipleship with renewed zeal and joy, and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to the people around them; and, second, on the sudden and large numbers of people who were convicted of their sins and professed faith in Jesus. More could have been written about the social and cultural impact of revivals, and the authors do mention such reformations in passing, insisting that all true revivals have led to great changes of many different kinds.
The authors show that all great revivals are preceded by focused seasons of prayer, accompanied by confession of sin and repentance. Believers, revived in their own walk with the Lord, are then emboldened to proclaim the Gospel, often at considerable cost, to their neighbors, and to be sent to far-off places as missionaries for Christ.
The book focuses on the leaders of these revivals, and shows how, in each generation, when people are seeking the Lord for revival, God raises up leaders to stand in the gap and lead the way into renewed experiences of grace and heavenly power. Of such leaders, the authors write, “With a firm belief in God's care, many revival leaders fearlessly entered perilous circumstances. They were not content to serve as chaplains to the status quo.”
May it please God to raise up such leaders in our day.
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